Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Quartet in G minor, K. 478 Paul WianckoA Sanguine Clockwork for string trio (2013) Maurice Ravel / Sahun HongLa Valse for piano quartet
INTERMISSION
Robert Schumann Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 47 or Antonin Dvořák Piano Quartet in D Major, Op. 23
In ensemble132’s newest piano quartet project, we explore how music can transcend and transform time and place, warping and blending them in intricate ways. The program begins with Mozart’s G minor Piano Quartet, premiered in Vienna but largely misunderstood at the time due to its complexity and depth. This is followed by Paul Wiancko’s A Sanguine Clockwork, which blurs time in a stop-and-start narrative that explores, in the composer’s words, “the relationship between the molecular and the cultural--that inexplicable science which links the sentiment of a well-loved folk song to the blood in our veins.”
We then present ensemble132’s arrangement of Ravel’s La Valse, a choreographic tone-poem that transports listeners back to 1855 Vienna in a half-nostalgic, half-tormented dream state. Viewed through the lens of its 1920 premiere, La Valse captures the disoriented social atmosphere of Europe post-World War I.
The second half of the program juxtaposes the previous temporal whirlwind, with either Schumann’s Piano Quartet or Dvořák’s D major Piano Quartet. Two of the finest works for this instrumentation, both pieces follow more traditional forms while showcasing each composer’s inventive talent for sonic displacement across time and place. The first of a series of programs exploring this theme, look out for more!
